Man charged with stealing police-issued Glock pistol in Whanganui

It is understood the man, who cannot be named, tried to sell the Glock to a gang member. A man has been charged with stealing a police-issued Glock pistol. According to court documents, he is alleged to have stolen the police firearm, valued at $1204, in Whanganui on 11 February.

In addition to the theft charge, the man, in his 40s, faces a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm arising from the same incident. NZME understands the man, who cannot be named, tried to sell the Glock to a gang member. The man has made his first appearance in the Whanganui District Court on the charges and was remanded to reappear in August.

He faces a maximum penalty of seven years' imprisonment on the theft charge and four years on the possession charge. The court has confirmed there are broad interim suppression orders in place restricting what can be reported about the case. NZME asked police how the firearm was allegedly taken, how the loss was discovered, whether it had been recovered, whether it had been used in any further offending, and whether there were any public safety concerns arising from the incident.

Central District Commander Superintendent Dion Bennett said police could not comment further than confirming the charges while the matter was before the court. The alleged theft is one of only a handful of reported cases in recent years involving stolen police-issued firearms. In 2019, two police-issued Glock pistols were stolen after a patrol car was taken in Gore.

The offender was sentenced the following year. In an earlier case, two police Glocks were stolen from the evidential lock-up at the New Plymouth courthouse in 2013. A lengthy police investigation revealed the theft was an inside job and a contractor was sentenced for the theft in 2015.